


The Hotspot: A Different Point of View

by Starbird



Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: Alcohol, Aliases, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Club Sex in a Dark Corner, Drug Use, Established Relationship, F-bombs, F/M, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Rebelcaptain - Freeform, Semi-Public Sex, Smut, Undercover Missions, Undercover as a Couple, Wall Sex, otp, sex under the influence, sex with feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-07-03
Packaged: 2018-11-17 11:03:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11274126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Starbird/pseuds/Starbird
Summary: *Cassian's POV on an existing scene*(Although it also works as a standalone one shot.)Cassian and Jyn go undercover to ferret out Imperial gossip at a skeevy dive. A dark corner is involved thanks to alcohol and the pervasive secondhand drug smoke.





	1. (Chapter 10)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [aewgliriel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/aewgliriel/gifts).



> This is a gift for [aewgliriel](http://archiveofourown.org/users/aewgliriel/pseuds/aewgliriel), who thought it would be interesting to get Cassian’s POV for this mission from my RebelCaptain fic, [Then](http://archiveofourown.org/works/10922973/chapters/24294072). I’ve never written his POV and thought I’d give it a shot! Thanks for the comment. :) (Pssst, if you've never read [aewgliriel's](http://archiveofourown.org/users/aewgliriel/pseuds/aewgliriel) work, be sure to!)
> 
> P.S.: If you’re coming over here from “Then” (thank you!), I’m sure you guys forgot who Danali Malcomb is, because I sorta keep forgetting to use her in that fic. She’s an Alliance spy OC I made up as a past lover of Cassian’s who he’s still friendly with. It was never anything serious, or even a relationship at all, really. At any rate, she’s not really all that important.

Cassian had worked The Hotspot for years, and he didn’t particularly relish going back to it – especially with Jyn. He’d been there with Danali Malcomb a few times, and it made them both sick to their stomachs. The Hotspot was a dive located in the city of Anelis, and the beings who flocked to it were a very particular bunch. They were all oppressed by the Empire, and yet they loved it all the same. It was not something Cassian understood – something he would never understand – and he loathed it. His alias, Penn Treke, was outgoing enough that Cassian was able to cover up his anger – his outright fury – at being there, and the beer was cheap and strong and usually he had a couple to tamp down on his seething emotions. Otherwise, he knew, he’d blow it. The only good thing about the disgusting place was that Sarya Med’ura, a Bothan who’d been with Alliance Intelligence for as long as Cassian had, had been deep undercover at The Hotspot for a good couple years, and Cassian trusted her and enjoyed working with her.

            Well. As much as he enjoyed working with anyone, or working Intelligence at all.

            Sarya passed a steady stream of intel on to the Alliance, but when she had something particularly good that was too risky to send, Draven sent Cassian over to collect it. As much as Cassian’s work consumed him in a way he hated to think about, he still felt a thrill at knowing information lay out there, right at his fingertips, ready to collect and bring home. Something that the Alliance needed, something that only _he_ could provide.

            As Cassian and Jyn approached the front door of the dive, he put his hand on the small of her back, a reminder that he was there. She was dressed in some top Intelligence had dug up that was flattering without being too revealing, and tight pants and flat shoes she looked uncomfortable in. Her makeup was simultaneously too much and not enough. Cassian didn’t care for it – he preferred her natural look – but her alias, Mina Talluv, was supposed to wear a lot of it. He’d seen plenty of female agents apply the stuff, but Jyn had clearly never used it a day in her life. She’d done her best, but it probably would have turned out for the worst if she’d tried to do more. She looked uncomfortable in that, too, and blinked a little too much.

            She was still beautiful to him.

            “Weapons check,” the gruff, burly bouncer said at the door. Cassian didn’t miss how thoroughly he patted Jyn down. The dive encouraged weapons – the Empire being a big supporter of personally arming oneself – and so both Jyn and Cassian were armed. When the bouncer found Jyn’s small sidearm in her forearm sheath, he chuckled. “Good to go.”

            “Why don’t you keep your hands off my girl, all right?” Cassian said in his practiced Coruscanti accent. It was as much a reaction from him as from Penn, though the words were not his. If it were up to him, he would’ve punched the guy. Actually, Jyn would’ve punched him first, so it wouldn’t have mattered.

            The thought made him smile to himself. Of course his Jyn would do that.

            As the bouncer patted him down, he wondered when, exactly, he’d started thinking of her as _his Jyn_. Did she feel the same way, too? He hadn’t missed the fact that the first time they’d made love, when he’d said _Tell me I’m yours_ , she hadn’t replied. But he hadn’t expected her to, not really, and it didn’t bother him as much as it could have. She was as caged as he was, and it was probably too much for her. Shit, it was too much for _him_ , and he’d probably had even more practice shoving people away.

            The bouncer let them through, seeming unimpressed with the blaster tucked in Cassian’s waistband at his back, and they walked into the club. It was too warm, and the air was smoky with the byproducts of mind-altering drugs. Lurid neon lights advertising a variety of products glowed from the walls, and holoscreens showed the Empire’s masterful propaganda, sports, a shopping network with useless overpriced junk, and images of the Empire’s many worlds. All happy images, of course. Because, _of course_. There were too many people, and Cassian immediately wished they’d come on another night. He could already tell this night would be a crazy one.

            “Well, do my eyes deceive me, or is it really you?!” rang out Sarya’s voice. Cassian smiled when he saw the petite Bothan making her way toward them in the crowd. She was good, very good, and she’d been watching for them. Jyn, he saw, was subtly glancing around, probably cataloging exits.

            He placed his hand on her back again, for no reason at all other than to touch her.

            Sarya had dyed the fringes of her white fur purple. She was always rotating her colors, because her alias, Yarna, was as fun-loving as Cassian’s. “Penn Treke,” she said, “it’s a pleasure as always. You’d better get over here before we waste another second!”

            She smiled at Jyn and grabbed Cassian’s elbow to pull him around a dance floor and to the back corner where their group always hung out, near a game table and another screen. Jyn followed, still silent, betraying nothing. Miko, the Rodian, was playing _fecl_ off to the side, a game with a ball and two sticks that other players moved around. Cassian saw Jyn watching as the Rodian hopped over the sticks and bounced the ball from knee to elbow to knee to shoulder. _Fecl_ was native to the planet, so she would never have seen it before. Cassian always played a few rounds when he was at The Hotspot, to get out his anger.

            Usually he ended up breaking something in his frustration.

            His “friends” thought it was funny.

            “And who’s _this_?” Sarya said.

            “This is my girlfriend, Mina,” Cassian said. “A rare gem of a woman, if ever there were one.”

            “Pleasure!” Sarya said. “I’m Yarna.”

            “Pleasure’s all mine,” Jyn said, shaking the Bothan’s hand. Her accent was perfect. It was a variation on her usual Coruscanti one. Cassian had heard her trying it out on the ship. Mostly she’d been cursing him, though he wasn’t exactly sure why. She’d also been cursing Draven, so, maybe she was just covering her bases.

            Sarya introduced Jyn to everyone, and Jyn smiled pleasantly. Cassian watched her closely, hoping she was doing all right. Going undercover to infiltrate the Citadel Tower on Scarif had been one thing – they hadn’t had to talk to anyone. It had been terrifying as hell, but it had been way different from actually assuming a new identity and pretending to be it. He could tell she was a little rigid, which made him just the slightest bit anxious. He touched her back again and left for a moment to order beers. When they arrived, they were overflowing as usual for the dive, and he handed one to Jyn. Beer spilled out of the glass and onto his hand and the top of her dark shirt, and even in the dim light he could see how it clung to the top of her breast. He quickly looked away and drank a good third of his beer before turning back to the Twi’lek, Dor’lena, to reply to something she’d said. He didn’t need to be distracted now. Or at any time during this mission. It had been different, the times he’d come with Danali, even when they were involved. They’d only been friends.

            Cassian swallowed his beer and figured now was as good a time as any to dive right into things. Enough small talk. He hated it anyway.

            “So, what’s been kicking around lately?” he asked Sarya. “Anything good? Any Rebellion news?”

            Sarya shrugged. “Good enough.” She accepted a thin cig offered to her by Dor’lena and took a drag before passing it to Cassian, who took it from her with his thumb and first finger. “Some rumor’s been floatin’ around. Some big weapon the Empire had but the fucking rebels got rid of.”

            Cassian snorted and put the cig to his lips. “That’s nerfshit.”

            He inhaled, seeing Jyn out of the corners of his eyes. Again, she betrayed nothing but a slight pursing of her lips, and she avoided looking at him. He wished she wouldn’t do that. She shouldn’t be surprised by whatever he did – whatever he _had_ to do – right? He was an Intelligence agent. He took on roles. He did whatever he had to do. So what if he did something as small as smoking on an assignment? It wasn’t a big deal. This was downright tame compared to the other horrors he’d committed.

            Jyn shook her head, tossing the wig out of her eyes.

            “Where would the Empire have come up with those kinds of resources for a superweapon, and further, found a way to hide it?” Cassian asked Sarya, looking over at Jyn. She coughed pointedly as his smoke drifted into her face, and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Besides,” he continued, looking back to the Bothan and resting his hand at the small of Jyn’s back again. He felt the beer he’d spilled onto his hand seep through the thin fabric of Jyn’s shirt. “How would the rebels have got rid of it anyway?”

            “Blew it up, I guess,” Sarya said with another shrug. “Design flaw? I don’t know.”

            “What kind of moron builds a flawed design?” Cassian said. He tightened his hand on Jyn’s back.

            “Hey, wait, you guys talking about that giant weapon thing again?” Miko the Rodian asked. “You know, I got a buddy in the Imperial Navy, and he got a buddy who works in SpecOps, and _his_ buddy – ”

            “Yeah, no one cares who your sources are, Miko,” Sarya interrupted. “Move on.”

            _“Anyway,”_ the irritated Rodian said with a glare, “I heard there was this massive attack on wherever the Empire keeps all their archives. Dunno where – that’s highly classified, of course – but the rebels somehow found out, and the assholes went and attacked. For no reason at all. No reason! I mean, what did they think we were hiding? Don’t they watch the news? But here’s the best part: they all died. All of them. _They all fucking died._ ” He let out a peal of laughter. “And they didn’t get _shit!_ ”

            In a second, Cassian’s hand slipped under the back of Jyn’s shirt, fingers pressed against her skin to steady her. Reminding her why they were there and that he was there with her. That he hated this as much as she did. That he remembered Scarif as clearly as she did. His broken body climbing the data tower after her when he saw she was no longer there. The man in white with his blaster aimed at her. The turbolift ride down. The look in her eyes. Her face the only thing he could see, feeling no pain at all in that moment….

            _Back to work!_ he reprimanded himself. _Stop thinking!_

            He switched the subject. “Tarkin’s gone, I heard,” he said.

            “Tarkin was a big ol’ blowhard,” said Dor’lena. “He just postured and pranced a lot. Like a big fat bird. One-a them with the big feathers, big plumage, just drags it around all day and pops it up for the ladies like, ‘Come here, you know mine is biggest.’”

            “Ha!” Cassian exclaimed, because that at least was funny. “Good one. I didn’t like him much, either.”

            “Your girl don’t talk much,” Dor’lena said, squinting at Jyn. “You save your mouth for the bedroom, love?”

            _Shit._

            “ _Does_ she!” Cassian said, and his hand moved from her back to give her a firm slap on the behind. Jyn turned and shoved his arm away, and he couldn’t blame her. He was being disgusting. But Penn _was_ disgusting. He was not a good man. He loved women for how he could use them. He was the kind of guy who would take all the pleasure for himself and never give any in return. Someone who would only be interested in fucking and never in making love. He wanted to party, to drink, to smoke, and didn’t give a shit about anyone but himself. Penn had no loyalty to anyone or anything, and he just did not care. Sure, the people at The Hotspot were his “friends,” but they were also made up of the same stuff he was.

            In short, Penn Treke was the exact opposite of Cassian himself, or of what he thought he would be. Cassian had carefully crafted Penn into this despicable alias, and he _hated_ that he’d had to use it with Jyn. He hadn’t expected to have to go back to The Hotspot so soon, and he sure as hell hadn’t expected things with Jyn to take the turn they had. He’d be lucky if he didn’t mess things up with her before this mission was over.

            He wasn’t sure who he hated more at the moment: Penn Treke or himself.

            “Ooh, and she fights back, too!” Dor’lena laughed at Jyn’s reaction to Cassian slapping her behind. “Come on, give us a chance.”

            “Got nothing to say, thanks,” Jyn said.

            Cassian shrugged it off and passed the cig over to Jyn. He nodded at it, but she waved it off….

            …and her demeanor changed immediately.

            “Excuse me,” she said. “I need some fresh air. I have a lung issue.”

            Cassian watched as she left, wondering what had upset her. It could have been anything. The clove cig shouldn’t have been much of an issue, he thought as he put it to his mouth again. He finished it off and stamped it out on the floor, wishing this night would just end already. The group chatted amongst each other, and he drank more of his beer and went to the _fecl_ area. Anything to take his mind off whatever was bothering Jyn. Ana, the female half of the human couple in the group, followed her out. Jyn should be okay, he figured, because Ana didn’t really take to anyone or talk very much. Although…if she took to Jyn, that would be a _very_ good thing, because Cassian knew Ana knew way more about things than she let on, and if Jyn got her to open up, they could be on to more intel.

            After about ten minutes, when Jyn hadn’t returned, Cassian decided to head out after her. She’d exited using the side door that led to a fenced-in duracrete patio, and he knew that Baze was just outside it in the shadows, close by and only a comlink call away if needed. Cassian opened the door to see Jyn and Ana talking.

            “Yeah, Sandi Marconi was talking about them on her show, _The War Hour_ ,” Ana was saying. “They don’t do nothin’ what don’t benefit them. They don’t care about nobody’s lives, nobody’s freedom, nobody’s – ”

            “Oh, you’re making a friend!” he interrupted, taking Jyn’s hand in one of his while he polished off the last of his beer. Now that he was outside in the (relatively) cooler air, he could feel that his face was flushed, and he was sweating in the pervasive heat. He tilted his head back at the dive and tugged Jyn’s hand. “Come back in. I’m lonely in there.”

            “I’m fine out here,” Jyn said. “Need the fresh air. It’s too heavy in there.”

            Ana snorted a laugh. “You really are a straight one, aren’t you? What’s the worry, honey? You can fly high just off the smoke in there. G’wan, go back in!” She pawed at them until they were back in the bar. “You should dance!” she said. “This place ain’t much, but it does have good music.”

            Cassian pulled Jyn into the middle of the dance floor, where they were surrounded by all of the dancing bodies. He leaned in to be heard.

            “She’s right,” he said as his other hand tangled with her free one. “You should have more of your drink, Mina. It’ll help you loosen up.”

            Jyn looked like she’d had enough. She tipped the tall glass to her lips and began drinking what was left of the beverage. Cassian already felt the effects of the smoke in the room, knew he was getting a contact high off it, and knew Jyn had to be feeling the same way.

            _You should leave_ , he told himself. _Get out. This isn’t good for you. You’re going to lose yourself. You’re going to lose control._

            But he didn’t leave. He felt dizzy, dazed, hazy, and even though he’d felt this way before just a little bit when he’d been at The Hotspot, it was so much more intense tonight. It felt… _good_. In a way he’d never felt before. He felt more relaxed in a way he’d never felt before. Everything seemed so much more intense and vivid. Jyn’s skin was so soft, she was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her, and it felt like everything made sense. He knew it didn’t – there was no way it did with this awful war going on – but with her there, with her with him, it did. It just _did_.

            Jyn’s hand ran up his arm, the touch electric even through his shirt, and his fingers cupped her elbows. She got rid of her glass somewhere and came back to him.

            Then he pulled her body to his.

            Cassian’s hands skimmed up her body, bringing her shirt with them up to her waist, and he touched her skin, and _Force_ , it felt good. It felt _so_ good, so unbelievably good that he was immediately hard and he was kissing her and he had no idea who he was anymore and he didn’t care at all, and her hands were fists in his shirt and twisting it as he kept them moving in time to the music, and he needed to be in her _now_ and there had to be a place here they could go because he was going to come apart any moment.

            Cassian tore himself away from her and grabbed her hand again, sweaty fingers gripping hers tightly, and led her away from the dance floor. He hurried through the dive, his eyes darting every which way as he searched for a place for them to be alone. After only a few moments, he pulled her around a wall in the back and into a dark corner where the cleaning supplies were kept, and he crushed his lips to hers as he pushed her hard into the wall behind her. His fingers furiously worked her pants, and he felt a fastener come off and someone was going to have to explain to Intelligence why their clothing was missing a hook and still, he did not care. Jyn’s hands were at his pants, too, pulling them apart as fast as she could. She shoved them down and pulled him out too roughly. Cassian’s breath caught, and she gasped an apology to him and he said it was okay, his lips already missing hers for that brief moment they’d been apart. He was back to kissing Jyn again in a second, so hard and so fiercely he knew it would show later.

             Cassian pressed her even firmer against the wall, his arousal hard against her bare skin and making her moan with need, and Jyn curled her fingers into his hair. Desire thoroughly overwhelmed his body and his mind, and he felt his control slipping away.

           “Tell me what you need,” he said, and it was his own accent, the alias completely falling away, his pitch low.

            Jyn grabbed his shirtsleeves and _yanked_ , the fabric ripping somewhere at the seams. Cassian stumbled against her, caught himself. Her teeth grazed his neck, and he felt the slight pricks of pain and even though it was not something he ever went for, the different sensation ratcheted his drugged mind up. The heat and humidity felt like it curled around him and engulfed him, like he couldn’t breathe.

            Jyn answered him in a husky voice, in her own accent, and when he heard it, he could swear he felt himself get even harder for her, if that could even be possible. “I need _you_.”

            “Tell me how.”

            She grabbed his collar in her fist. Yanked him toward her again. Let her lips drift right near his without touching them. “Don’t you dare be gentle.”

            “Whatever you want,” Cassian replied, catching her lips with his own again. “Now, don’t _you_ dare keep quiet like you did on the ride here. I want to _hear_ you.”

            Force, how he did. They’d been quiet on the ship, but he didn’t know if that was because of the others, or because it was their first time and they were both shy, or because they just _were_ quiet in bed. It could have been anything. His lovemaking style certainly varied from partner to partner, but with Jyn, here, now, all he wanted was to hear her moan, hear her cry out, hear that she was enjoying him as much as he was enjoying her. To let him know he brought her pleasure and made her feel as incredible as she made him feel. Making love to her that first time had set him on fire, and now, he felt as if he might burn up, set ablaze again by the drugs, the alcohol, by _her_ , always her, the way she made him feel and how quickly he’d fallen for her in just mere days.

            Cassian picked her up and pulled her onto him, pushing her back against the wall to steady both of them. She cried out in surprise, and it was his turn to apologize. He waited a breath for her to adjust to the feel of him, and then she crossed her ankles behind his back and he knew she was ready. She was so soft, so warm, so _wet_ , so _perfect_ around him. For a little while he supported her as he moved within her, and then he used the wall again for them. Deciding to try a different position, he pushed on one of her knees. She got the signal and put it down, her other leg still wrapped around his waist and one of his arms holding it. Their height difference made the new position too difficult, and they were too impatient and too clumsy with their desperate desire, and he took her into his arms once more and used the wall again. Cassian liked that more anyway. He felt her hands on his face, in his hair, on his chest, and her lips followed everywhere she touched.

            “Let me hear you,” he said, feeling his release coming closer. He wanted Jyn to bring him to the brink and force him over, to be the one who caused him to fall. “No one out there will hear you. It’ll be just me. I want to hear you enjoying yourself. Let yourself go.”

            She did. Oh, how she did. She moaned for him, just for him to hear, every time he thrust within her. It brought him closer, and he desperately wanted to make her come, too. His hand plunged down between them, between her legs, and she let out a curse as he touched her. Her right arm flew out to the neighboring wall, and Cassian felt her push herself _harder_ onto him, her body swallowing him up deeper, and his breath caught and he gasped aloud at how incredibly _deep_ he was within her.

            It was almost too much.

            The music pounded around them, pounded in his head. His mind spun. All his sensations were heightened and so, so intense. Cassian pressed his cheek against Jyn’s, and he felt her hand touch his between them and press his fingers harder onto herself with her palm. And then, _Force_ , she spread her fingers so that he was moving in and out between them, and she was squeezing him, and he couldn’t be quiet either, and he fought to hold onto his control. He would _not_ allow himself to finish before she did. His body shook, and he was too close.

            It was only a second more before she came, her fingernails digging into his back so hard he’d probably have marks on him. He could not have cared less. She cried out, her voice so beautiful to his ears.

            “I’m almost there, too,” he said. “Tell me something." He nuzzled her ear. Whispered, "Make me come.”

            She replied, “I want you to tell _me_ something.”

            “Anything,” he replied, his voice tight, and for a moment she couldn’t speak, because he was kissing her again. When he broke from her, she said,

            “Tell me I’m your Jyn.”

            It was enough to break him, and he came hard deep inside her, whispering “My Jyn” against her mouth, his eyes closed, and he felt as though he’d never spoken truer, more honest words in his entire life.


	2. (Chapter 11)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jyn and Cassian continue to get information, then decide to head back to the motel. Guess what, it has a bed. And Cassian can apparently go two rounds in a very short period of time, because of course he can, and we all know he can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading and for the comments and kudos! They make my day bright as Tatoo I!!

Jyn slouched back against the wall, and Cassian leaned against her as their breathing slowed. They hadn’t yet adjusted their clothes, and Cassian could still feel their skin pressed together below. His mind felt hazy from the aftereffects of lovemaking, the drugs and alcohol boosting the overall blissful effect. The music boomed in the club, but in their little corner, it felt quiet.

            Not for long, though. And somebody would surely have noticed their absence. Cassian let out a sigh.

            “That was crazy,” he said.

            “What, you don’t like crazy sex?” Jyn said, kissing his neck just below his ear.

            Cassian laughed a little. What a question for her to ask. “No, I do,” he said. “But I like anything with you.” He tucked the hair of her wig – _stupid wig_ , he thought, wanting to feel her real strands between his fingers – behind her ears and held her face. “It’s so much better with you. Everything is.”

            Cassian saw sincerity on her face, and suddenly, words tumbled out of her so quickly, it was as if she couldn’t stop herself. “Did you used to hate yourself afterward?” she asked.

            He seemed as powerless to stop the honesty as she, with everything in his system and with the passion they’d both just shared together. “Yes,” he said. “Always.”

            Jyn smiled and looked down, pressing her fingers through his. “Not with you, though.”

            “No,” he said. “Never with you.”

            Cassian looked down, the intensity of the conversation making him a little uncomfortable. He’d never talked with a woman like this before. He’d never had a need to. What was he supposed to say after a one-night stand or quick fuck? Other than, “Thanks, see you around base”? Or the potentially most awkward, when he’d slept with another spy, “I’m sure we’ll see each other again”? He’d only had a couple really pissed off partners whom he’d chosen poorly, but most were in it for the same reasons as he, and quite understanding.

            “We should get back out there,” Cassian said. “We still have lots of catching up to do with our friends, and I’m not ready to go home just yet.” He leaned forward, pressing into Jyn so that he could move his lips to her ear. “I’m not ready to go back to being me just yet.”

            “Me, neither,” Jyn replied. She kissed him again, and then they zipped and buckled back up. Cassian took Jyn’s hand again and led her once more out to the middle of the club, where the music and dancing were still going strong. It was like they had never left. On the way, he ordered two more beers for them, and brought them to her in the middle of the floor. For tonight, they could enjoy themselves. Tomorrow afternoon they’d be back here again, collecting the rest of their intel. Then they would be going home.

            _Home._

            Ana wormed her way through the crowd and up next to Jyn, pulling her away from Cassian. He kept his eye on and ears tuned to Jyn, knowing Ana could be slippery.

            “Dor’lena had something she wanted me to tell ya,” Ana said. “Come on, don’t be shy,” she said when Jyn’s pace slowed. She put her hands on Jyn’s hips and swayed her along to the music. Cassian saw Jyn tense as Ana danced with her. “It don’t mean nothin’. Anyway, Dor’lena says you and Penn both would like this. This is good. The Empire has its eye on a good half dozen planets that the rebels got their hooks into. Few in the Outer Rim, some coming back Coreward. They’re getting bold, the rebels. Dor’lena got names for ya, if you’re interested. Empire’s been hiring mercenaries, too, to track the rebels down.” Ana shrugged. “If you might be interested in that. Dunno. I don’t got the skills for it, but Penn here,” she nodded, “he’s on the fringe enough, he might.”

            “Really,” Jyn said. “He didn’t strike me as that sort of guy.”

            Cassian let himself smile, because Penn would smile, although for a different reason. While Cassian was smiling in pride to see Jyn handle herself well despite her discomfort, Penn would simply be enjoying two women dancing together.

            Ana smiled coldly. “Let’s just say I wouldn’t want to get on his bad side.” She motioned to someone Jyn couldn’t see, and Dor’lena squeezed in between the dancers. Ana passed Jyn off to the Twi’lek, moving her further away from Cassian. He was good at reading lips, but with the blaring music, people moving back and forth in front of the women, and Dor’lena and Jyn swaying, he couldn’t read much of the conversation. Something about mercenary work from Dor’lena and Jyn replying about how tough she was. By the time they stopped speaking, he had made his way over to them and pressed his back against Jyn’s to let her know he was there for her.

            Out of the corner of his eye, Cassian watched as Dor’lena leaned in close to Jyn and brushed her lips against Jyn’s. “Alstinsky,” she said, before brushing her lips against Jyn’s again, a little harder. “Dochanna. Lielker. Those are just the Outer Rim alone.” She pressed her lips harder against Jyn’s, and Cassian pressed his back more firmly against hers. Jyn shouldn’t have to be doing these kinds of things for the Rebellion. She was probably going to sucker-punch Draven when they got back and debriefed. Finally Dor’lena had shared all of her information, cupped Jyn’s chin, and glided away. Then Ana was back with a beer, and Jyn looked like she’d had enough.

            “Ladies,” Cassian said, smoothly intervening. “Having fun?”

            “Always,” Ana replied, slipping her arm around Cassian’s waist. He didn’t want to react and act like he liked this Empire-loving woman, but he had to. Ana’s other arm, he noticed, was around Jyn. Cassian chuckled.

            “You know, Ana, you’re welcome to come back with us,” he said before giving her a shrug. “Could be fun.”

            As covertly as he could, he watched Jyn’s expression. She looked like she was about to be sick and struggling to keep that expression off her face. He knew, however, that Ana wouldn’t go quite as far as taking him up on his offer, that she was all talk and bluster. Dor’lena, well, she was a different story, and he’d been at her mercy before and come away without having to succumb to her innuendos.

            Ana hissed. “Pfft. Not my interest, Penn. ’Sides, I heard about your skills from the last girl you brought here. ‘Sorely lacking,’ I think she said.” Ana turned an apologetic look to Jyn, one corner of her mouth quirked up. “Sorry, Mina.”

            Jyn gave her a big shrug. “You work with what you got.”

            Ana punched Cassian in the shoulder. “But the rest of you is okay. I like you just fine the way you are. Only stop spending so much time away. We miss you.”

            “I miss you guys, too,” Cassian said in his most sincere voice. He clenched his fist and raised it in the air. “Long live the Empire.”

            Ana mimicked the gesture with all the ferocity he knew she damn well meant. “Absolutely. Stability and order, that’s what we need, and after those moronic rebels are wiped out, things can go back to normal.”

            “Thank the Force. Goodnight, Ana.”

            Ana took the hint and left, and Jyn turned back to Cassian. She put one hand on his shoulder and drank her beer with the other. He got another one, and they stayed out on the floor until their drinks were gone.

            “I think,” Cassian said in Jyn’s ear once they’d finished, “we should get out of here.”

            Jyn nodded enthusiastically, and he could see from the look on her face that she’d gotten _his_ innuendo. He was dying to be alone with her for real this time, not in a back corner of a shady club by the floor and window cleaner. Even though that had been some of the best sex he’d ever had, he still wanted Jyn all to himself.

Cassian contacted a taxi service, and they waited at the curb, Jyn leaning against him as the world drifted lazily to the right. Cassian tapped his finger twice on his comlink, and he got two double-clicks from Bodhi for both the pilot and Kaytoo and one each from Chirrut and Baze. Jyn double-clicked hers, and he sent her a look. Jyn snorted a laugh at him, and he couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her playfulness. Playing back at her. When had _that_ become part of his personality? No, it was Penn’s. But Penn wouldn’t…so…was it _Cassian_ who had actually teased her back? Before he could figure it out, the taxi came, and they got in. Cassian told the driver the address, and they set off. Fingers tangled with one another, and they sat pressed together in the backseat, thighs warm against each other. Cassian hyperfocused on Jyn, seeing nothing but her, fighting to pay attention to everything around him like a good spy should.

            The motel was old but clean, in a safe part of town, and of course there was a problem even though they’d already checked in and left their luggage, and they had to wait an extra ten minutes to sort it out. The lift was broken and they had to take the stairs to the third level, Jyn tripping over one and waving Cassian off in embarrassment.

            Once they got in the room and locked the door, there were no holds barred.

            They tore at one another’s clothes in their haste to undress each other, fingers clumsy in their drunkenness. Even though they’d made love an hour or two ago at the club, the urge was there again, the desire, and it was unquenchable. They barely made it to the bed before he was inside her, and she was moaning, and it was hard, and fast, and rough, and she gripped his head as she kissed him and his arms were under her and he was clutching her shoulders and pulling her to him. He moved quickly, having absolutely no restraint or patience, just needing to be _in her_ and fill her and she was so soft, and so wet, and he did mean to last a bit longer but her body overwhelmed him and ripped his orgasm right from him with a groan. He squeezed her shoulders hard to hang on as he rode it out, his eyes shut and his jaw clenched against the intensity.

            As the pleasure receded, Cassian laid his cheek against Jyn’s chest, feeling guilty for his selfishness. He hadn’t taken care of her. He should have. Instead, he’d only cared about _his_ needs, getting _himself_ off. _I’m sorry, Jyn._ But he didn’t know how to say it. They readjusted, staying in one another’s arms, until finally they fell asleep, and Cassian thought this was not only a successful mission, but one of the very best.


End file.
